Review: Surrogates

Director Jonathan Mostow has never offended me as a filmgoer. His
pictures have been routinely well constructed and visually interesting
("Terminator 3," "U-571," "Breakdown"), even in the face of
underwhelming plots and misguided performances. "Surrogates" (IMDb listing is
undoubtedly a misfire for the filmmaker, but it’s an interesting
failure, peppered with a few memorable sequences and an appropriate,
timely message highlighting the acceleration of social disconnect.
While ambitious, the rhythm is off on this limping picture, with the
fingerprints of severe studio interference smudging up the movie from
the start.

In the future, society will employ the use of Surrogates, robotic
avatars that are sent out into the word to conduct daily business.
They are the ideal version of the user, with smooth looks and near
indestructibility. When an important Surrogate is killed with a
special military weapon, F.B.I. Agent Greer (Bruce Willis) is sent in
to investigate. Finding the trail of clues leading to a community of
human beings who choose to live life with their own flesh and blood,
overseen by the influential Prophet (Ving Rhames), Agent Greer enters
their forbidden city, only to watch his Surrogate destroyed. Now
without his buffer to the outside world, Agent Greer is forced to
interact with a menacing Surrogate population, including his estranged
wife, Maggie (Rosamund Pike).

Adapted from 2006 graphic novel, "The Surrogates," the feature film
realization preserves a distinctly illustrated quality to the
material, keeping a tone of page-turning mystery and flashy sci-fi
discovery. It’s a handsome picture, photographed sharply and brimming
with curious fantasy touches sold well by the numerous special
effects, with the centerpiece being the network of Surrogates.
Chillingly dead-eyed machines with vivid features and silky skin, the
Surrogates generate the tension and mystery of the piece, and Mostow
juggles the balance between robotic advancement and emotional distance
soundly, laying on the technological detachment theme thick, but
effectively. When all is lost in the film (and it unravels
eventually), the design and execution of the Surrogate figures remain
visually stimulating to the end.

The confidential weapon capable of slaughtering Surrogates is the
major question mark of the film, but the mystery surrounding the gun
and its various owners is never massaged hard enough to reach critical
mass. Instead the feature jumps from turn to turn, suggesting that
"Surrogates" was trimmed heavily on its way to the multiplex. While
filled with colorful characters with plenty on their minds, the story
has been pared down to the bare essentials of action and whodunit.
There’s not much room to breathe here, highlighted uncomfortably in
the relationship between Greer and Maggie. A married couple unable to
cope with the tragic loss of their young son, the pair has taken to
Surrogacy to numb the pain. It’s a plotline that appears integral to
the overall story, but all that’s left in "Surrogates" are
melodramatic fragments that are poorly finessed into the film, again
suggesting cold studio hands restructured the plot without Mostow’s
cooperation, leaving turbulent waves of emotion behind, absent the
necessary, gentle context.

Bruce Willis looks a little bored here at times and is miscast as the
baffled hero. Thankfully he’s surrounded by a fine supporting cast
(including Radha Mitchell and Buzz from "Home Alone" himself, Devin
Ratray, here as a slob F.B.I. tech wizard) who seem to be enjoying the
Surrogate fantasy and futureworld trimmings. "Surrogates" is short (85
minutes) and fails to land a killing blow that pays off the simplified
mystery with any distinct urgency. It’s a flawed film, but far from
unbearable. Nothing a DVD director’s cut couldn’t fix.

Director Jonathan Mostow has never offended me as a filmgoer. His\npictures have been routinely well constructed and visually interesting\n(\"Terminator 3,\" \"U-571,\" \"Breakdown\"), even in the face of\nunderwhelming plots and misguided performances. \"Surrogates\" (IMDb listing is\nundoubtedly a misfire for the filmmaker, but it’s an interesting\nfailure, peppered with a few memorable sequences and an appropriate,\ntimely message highlighting the acceleration of social disconnect.\nWhile ambitious, the rhythm is off on this limping picture, with the\nfingerprints of severe studio interference smudging up the movie from\nthe start.\n\n

\n\nIn the future, society will employ the use of Surrogates, robotic\navatars that are sent out into the word to conduct daily business.\nThey are the ideal version of the user, with smooth looks and near\nindestructibility. When an important Surrogate is killed with a\nspecial military weapon, F.B.I. Agent Greer (Bruce Willis) is sent in\nto investigate. Finding the trail of clues leading to a community of\nhuman beings who choose to live life with their own flesh and blood,\noverseen by the influential Prophet (Ving Rhames), Agent Greer enters\ntheir forbidden city, only to watch his Surrogate destroyed. Now\nwithout his buffer to the outside world, Agent Greer is forced to\ninteract with a menacing Surrogate population, including his estranged\nwife, Maggie (Rosamund Pike).\n\n

\n\nAdapted from 2006 graphic novel, \"The Surrogates,\" the feature film\nrealization preserves a distinctly illustrated quality to the\nmaterial, keeping a tone of page-turning mystery and flashy sci-fi\ndiscovery. It’s a handsome picture, photographed sharply and brimming\nwith curious fantasy touches sold well by the numerous special\neffects, with the centerpiece being the network of Surrogates.\nChillingly dead-eyed machines with vivid features and silky skin, the\nSurrogates generate the tension and mystery of the piece, and Mostow\njuggles the balance between robotic advancement and emotional distance\nsoundly, laying on the technological detachment theme thick, but\neffectively. When all is lost in the film (and it unravels\neventually), the design and execution of the Surrogate figures remain\nvisually stimulating to the end.\n\n\n

\nThe confidential weapon capable of slaughtering Surrogates is the\nmajor question mark of the film, but the mystery surrounding the gun\nand its various owners is never massaged hard enough to reach critical\nmass. Instead the feature jumps from turn to turn, suggesting that\n\"Surrogates\" was trimmed heavily on its way to the multiplex. While\nfilled with colorful characters with plenty on their minds, the story\nhas been pared down to the bare essentials of action and whodunit.\nThere’s not much room to breathe here, highlighted uncomfortably in\nthe relationship between Greer and Maggie. A married couple unable to\ncope with the tragic loss of their young son, the pair has taken to\nSurrogacy to numb the pain. It’s a plotline that appears integral to\nthe overall story, but all that’s left in \"Surrogates\" are\nmelodramatic fragments that are poorly finessed into the film, again\nsuggesting cold studio hands restructured the plot without Mostow’s\ncooperation, leaving turbulent waves of emotion behind, absent the\nnecessary, gentle context.\n\n

\n\nBruce Willis looks a little bored here at times and is miscast as the\nbaffled hero. Thankfully he’s surrounded by a fine supporting cast\n(including Radha Mitchell and Buzz from \"Home Alone\" himself, Devin\nRatray, here as a slob F.B.I. tech wizard) who seem to be enjoying the\nSurrogate fantasy and futureworld trimmings. \"Surrogates\" is short (85\nminutes) and fails to land a killing blow that pays off the simplified\nmystery with any distinct urgency. It’s a flawed film, but far from\nunbearable. Nothing a DVD director’s cut couldn’t fix.